Discord had been given very specific instructions on where to go. The dream which had mentioned something about a path that he was not to stray from. The book read of a path called the path of the Damned that many creatures have followed in the past for answers. He was to follow it until he had found what he was searching for. The major problem that stood before him was that if he was to stray off from the path he could never find his way back.
Discord looked to the side of him to see the black myth that flushed through the woods. The ocean of desolation was what the books had called it. It truly was a terrific place where none had ever returned from. Instead, she could hear the cries of those who had come before him. His danger lied in their freedom as the only way that one could escape from such a place was to have someone take their place. The Damned Souls reach out for him and we'll try to find freedom so he had to be careful to not let his soul be lost to the darkness.
He walked forward as he tried not to look into the void. He was a filly walking over a broken and rotted Bridge too scared to look down to the depths below him. He kept whispering to himself trying to keep his mind in focus and on the path. He replayed o&o over and over in his mind trying to distract himself. Replaying scenes and events that he had played with his friends managed to calm him for a bit and overshadow the screams echoed through the woods.
He has no idea what he was looking for. The path seemed to Go On Without End Far Beyond the Horizon. The book mentions The Travelers did not record what they saw on their Journey so none of them knew what to look for exactly. All the book mentioned is that once he had what he was looking for he would know it. He walked with faith blindly an unknown Trail but he did it because he wanted to help his friend. A lost soul was innocent and undeserving of her punishment. She was only a kid, a child Lost. But most importantly she was his friend and he was not going to leave a friend behind.
"Hey you," A strange voice called out. "Are you lost?"
Discord stopped his tracks to see the search for the source of The Voice. He looked around but cannot see any soul in sight.
"Over here," The voice called out.
Discord turned to see a small black figure laying on the road. The figure was a hairy ball curled up. When it uncurled itself it looked to be a black Fox with white glowing eyes. Discord stepped back and put his hands out in front of him.
"Take it, easy man, I'm not going to hurt you." Its voice was surprisingly normal and almost seemed caring. "If the rest got you though, then you're kind of a goner dude."
Discord stood and looked at the ground. He turned to look at the void and then back at the black fox. He debated if he should even consider talking to it. On one hand, there was the very likely chance that it was a demonic spirit trying to trick him, but on the other hand, it could have been just an innocent bystander.
Discord took a deep breath. "And Who might you be?"
"No one important, just someone trying to give you a heads up." The fox stood up and scratched its neck. "You really shouldn't go down this path. It comes with the high chance that something might try to drag you into the pitch."
Discord looked into the dark void as he heard screaming. He sighed as he was reminded about the inescapable death that tied in front of him. "Ya trust me, I'm well aware of the risk."
"Dream walker?" The Fox inquired with a smirk.
"Soul Dreamer, but ya."
The Fox nodded as it turned to look down the path. "I don't know pal, you really shouldn't just walk down there all by yourself."
Discord walked past the Fox before stopping only after a few feet. He turned around to meet the Foxe's eyes. "Well then what would you suggest. It's not like I have many options when I have only one path, and besides, I don't even know you."
The Fox nodded as it yawned and stretched."True true, you aren't wrong." The Fox shook his head and stood up straight on four legs. "Look dude I'm just trying to help. I know you can't see it but there are many other paths to take that would be far less risky."
Discord took out to the endless that split through the void. "You are also not wrong, I don't see them."
"Hey look I'm not forcing you to do anything so if you wanna go down there it's your choice." The Fox stood up and began to walk towards Discord. "You see, beyond the pitch," The Fox said as he pointed to the black void. "There lies many unseeable paths. Many, like myself, have learned how to navigate these paths to get you to where you wanna go."
"Oh really," Discord said sarcastically. "So to avoid the bad creatures of the void I must go into the void. Now, why didn't I think about that." Discord crossed his arms and had a big smirk on his face.
The Fox laughed at the remark. "Well, you got me there. Even I admit how ludicrous that sounds." The Fox walked to the edge where the tree line was. "You see, the creatures can see the light of the path and what's on it, like a beckon. Now if you go into the void itself and use it as cover, then You have a pretty good chance of staying off their radar."
Discord stared off into the distance. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Look, how do I even know…"
"Well now, I guess you don't." The Fox walked back to the center of the path. "As I said, I'm not gonna go try and tell you how to live your life. I was just trying to give you some advice to live."
The Fox began to walk away before Discord ran up to it. "Wait! Can you at least show me the paths you where talking about."
The Fox chuckled at the inquiry. It walked over to the tree line and put its black misty paw out. Its paw manifested a black rock which he dropped. The rock fell straight down and disappeared. The Fox then walked over the spot it had pointed to earlier. The actions were mirrored, however that time the rock seemed to hit a surface and stayed on the ground level.
Discord watched in amazement as there seemed to be no path, road, or any kind of surface for the rock to sit on.
"You see dude, there are safe ways through here." The Fox stepped foot on the invisible path. "I see them and you don't. Does that mean I'm wrong here?"
Discord looked out to the open bright and peaceful look path. Then he looked out to the invisible pitch-black path. The sighed as he knew whatever future events unfolded from that point on, would be his fault.
Discord followed the Fox onto the invisible path and into the pitching void. The Fox kept looking back making sure Discord wasn't far behind. The two made their Journey till the light of the path was no more.
"Where exactly are we going?" Discord asked.
The Fox turned and glanced at him. "Well, where were you heading?"
Discord swallowed hard as he thought about what the answer was. "I'm trying to find a friend."
The Fox let out a long whistle as it shook its head. "Well, I feel bad for your friend, being in a place like this."
"Ya, well anyway you know how I can find them?"
"Ah, I see. You planned to find the path of "knowledge," The Fox laughed.
Discord rolled his eyes. "Ya, I guess."
"Well to find your friend we're gonna had to dig deep into the place of the lost souls.
Discord stopped and swelled hard. "Wait, the what?"
"You'll see," The fox chuckled.
Shira pushed back the curtain and stared out into the night sky. She looked around to see the busy street with lights and ponies. The two cats were inside a small hotel room made for 1. It wasn't much but it was a place for them to hide for now.
She closed the curtain and walked back to the bed. Capper was in the bathroom tending to his wombs. He was standing in front of the mirror with a wet rag cleaning the cuts he had. The bathroom sink was full of blood and the floor was stained. Several bloody rags were all over the floor. Shira sat down on the bed and rubbed her head. She still felt light-headed from the fight earlier. Her head was wrapped along with her chest and arms.
Capper walked out of the bathroom and leaned up against the wall. "Hey, can you help me out here. I'm pretty sure my arm is dislocated."
Shira nodded as she staggered to her feet. She walked over to him and put both of her paws on his arm. "Just relax your arm, ok."
"Ya, I got it."
Shira stood and braced herself. "I'm gonna count to three alright." Capper nodded in return. "Ok, 1….2…."
"Ahhhhh, Son of a bitch!" Capper leaned his head against the wall as the pressure rushed out of his arm. "What the hell happened to three?"
Shira chuckled as she sat back down on the bed. "You're not supposed to tense up when you do it, so I had to do it when you didn't expect it."
Capper groaned as he nearly fell to the floor. The pain was mostly gone and the rest was slowly following. His scratches were what mostly hurt as they burned. He looked down at his body to see that the black scares were starting to go away. Shira touched the back of her head to see that it was still bleeding a little.
Capper walked over to the bed and sat down at the bottom of it. "So when's our little friend…"
Capper was interrupted when he got an answer to his question. Arch opened the door and slammed it shut. The golden armor cat was covered in black blood and guts. The black covered cat walked past Shira and Capper without saying a word. He took off his armor and set it on the floor. He walked to the bathroom and turn on the faucet. Black blood began to strip all over the floor and fill up the sink.
"What the hell happened to you?" Shira asked.
"I made some new friends, let's just say that." Arch walked out of the bathroom and plopped down on the bed. " we can't stay here for long they're going to catch up with us sooner or later."
"Well just hold your horses there for a second." Shira hissed. "I'm not going anywhere or doing anything before I get a shower. Make that a long bubble bath."
Arch rolled his eyes and laid down on the bed. "Whatever."
Shira limped to the bathroom and turned on the faucet after plugging the drain. She walked back over to the door and slammed it shut locking it behind her. Capper sighed as he laid back down next to Arch.
"Can I take one after her?" Capper asked.
Arch laughed as he groaned. " yeah, cuz I'm taking one too."